Herr Munchausen ends up calling up his wife Edna and Adolph, who turns out to be his eldest and tells them that Verwaand was "dealt with" while having them sit with us while he pours out a bottle of wine into glasses.
"To Kristoff's memory, may he rest in peace." - he proclaims somberly, lifting the glass. Everyone drinks. Oh, that's right, you don't clink glasses when it's wake. Fair enough.
The rest of the visit is scattered. While I obviously can't promise anything right now, I do drop enough hints in Gustaf's ear to be sure he is ready to take advantage of opening roads. He gets his own copperphone, ostensibly so that he could keep in touch with Bridgit, but also as a convenient way for me to let him know about the advances in roadbuilding, so that his own faction could jump up on the opportunity ahead of sea traders. This is going to piss off Klaus, most likely, but his hands are tied. I very much doubt he's stupid enough to try for a second assassination given how the repercussions of the first are still shaking things up ten years later.
But, seeing as it is still early, I take the opportunity to take Bridgit out on a low-key date and stroll around Berlinger. No specific goal in mind, just checking the sights. We had a spot of tea with some local treats in a small tavern not far from the castle. This area seems to be developed as something my old world would term as "tourist promenade" - wide street, lots of shops, parks, street vendors... Nice place, overall. But, of course, there is always something about to happen to, ah... "color up the experience". Namely, we run into Falstaff.
We were just sitting in the park, getting a breather from all that walking (and exchanging a few discreet kisses, but who's watching?) when someone clears their throat from behind the shrubbery. Lo and behold, it's the lech, standing in the middle of a damn lawn and grinning like he just saw something titillating.
"Well, that certainly explains why I shouldn't have bothered." - he offers. Wonder what's next. If he segues it into some sort of blackmail, there's going to be... an incident. Or accident.
"Aaaand?" - I drawl, waiting for him to get to the point of it.
Surprisingly enough, he raises both hands in a placating gesture. "Nothing, nothing, my fair lady." - he retorts - "As a fellow connoisseur of fine women, I completely understand. And that's a very fine woman you have there, jungfrau Gillespie. I'd proffer my credentials as an experienced ladies' man, but if I'm seeing this right, no men need apply, right?"
"Essentially right." - I allow. Not sure if he's serious or not, but him adhering to some kind of casanova honor code isn't that odd, considering the overall circumstances.
He lifts his hat and bows slightly. "A pity, but a man's gotta know his limits." - he proffers amiably - "Have a nice day, ladies. As for me, the brothel beckons. Today's definitely a good day for a double." And with that, he turns around and walks off, whistling. Huh.
"What a lech." - Bridgit whispers - "Mistress, there's something wrong with the world when a man like him has more gallantry than some princes I can think of."
Back in the palace, I find out something stupid. Namely, that even the people who had the chance to see me work, including Abe, Hiram and dad, all expect I'd be taking it slow and maybe turn something up about the valley in a month. Which is absolutely NOT good for me, but apparently there's simply no way for Kraut to "muster the workforce" any sooner. Never-fucking-mind I'm already taking samples and mapping out the course. Speaking of which... Klaus for once was entirely honest. There is a deep bowl-like crater utterly filled with ash that makes traversing the last stretch to Kraut unfeasible. The crater is wider than it is deep, but seems to be dipping under the cliffs at the sides, so there might be more ash than I expected. Ash itself is pretty good, however, it's a mix of pumice and pozzolanic ash that probably needs just a bit of quicklime and water to become concrete.
I bring back a bucket of this to Academy. In the sky above Berlinger, the airship spools the engines and turns back, all of the delegation abroad. This time, the plan is to travel to the Parsee first, let off Abe, Hiram, Rafiqa and van der Klaases, then swing by Haver so dad could do his business there (He and Dantes have some kind of on-going business deal plodding on. I think Dantes is the local expertise, while dad is the big scary stick to intimidate the local nobles into complying with road building. I was about to look into the issue myself, but dad said not to worry, he'll handle it. I guess I can let that be.) and finish the trip at the estate. Maybe take the family on a bit of air stroll, then back to Parsee with the ship.
That being handled, I leave my instance on the ship largely on autopilot, citing the need to concentrate on piloting the ship (it's conveniently cloudy, and they completely buy my excuse). So, what to do now? Academy? Nothing to do there. Girls are busy with their homework for once, and I'm not really keen on interrupting unless they ask for it. So I step out to see who else is around. The newspaper trio are moderately busy, so they can not hang out, but they gratefully accept the news that the delegation is to return today. I'm sure Abe will have his own press release for them once he is back in the castle. If not, I can always prod him to make one. People tend to trust the government more if the government is willing to talk to them, after all.
In the library, I locate Lemand... And he is amenable to a conversation. More than a little amenable, actually, as he seems to perk up as soon as I come in.
"Lady Gillespie, what luck. I was about to send you a note." - he offers - "Would you happen to have some time for scholarly discussion? I find myself in need of your indispensable insight."
I pull out a chair and sit across the table from him. "Sure thing, Lemand. I have time right now. What's on your mind?" - I tell him - "Oh, dispense with lady Gillespie already. Just call me Alyssa."
He scratches the back of his head. "I wouldn't want to presume, but if that's your will..." - he hedges - "Alyssa, I find myself in a bind. You see, I have developed a promising enchantment scheme that, I'm confident, would sell well, but my father remains regrettably dismissive of my scholarly findings."
He passes a letter to me, and shrugs helplessly. I scan through it, and... well. Let's just say that Lemarchand Senior had reacted to his son's findings by admonishing him for "pursuing witless endeavors" and recommended Lemand "leave your worthless manuscripts alone and go practice your fencing as befits of a man".
"Lemand, no offense, but your father is a halfwit." - I tell him bluntly, and he heaves a sigh.
"I wish it was a slight, Alyssa, but the sad fact is, it is but an unvarnished truth. I am already facing a reduction in my finances. I fear if I fail to show any, ahem, 'knightly improvements', I will have to resign from the Academy and seek some manner of employment to sustain myself." - he admits - "I am at my wit's end. Nothing I do pleases him, all that he wants to see in me is but muscle."
"Well that just won't do." - I object - "How about I hire you as a scholar? You can tell your father to stick his swords where the sun doesn't shine. If he lacks the foresight to garner your profits, I certainly will."
"But... What good to you would I be?" - he retorts feebly - "Next to your brilliance, I'm but a guttering candle."
"Lemand, I can't and won't do everything on my own. There's myriad of things that require my attention." - I tell him - "You just said you invented a scheme that promises profit. That means you made something I'm not selling already. Which means it's something I didn't consider. My interests are primarily directed towards alchemy and mass production. I have no qualms financing research in high magic, and you are doing rather well on that front."
"If you think so..." - he says uncertainly.
"Out of curiosity. How much does your father give you for your living expenses right now?" - I inquire.
Lemand groans. "I have received a hundred golds on my departure to Academy and an assurance that I've to receive no more until the next summer." - he admits. It's... kind of lacking. It means he has to live on ten golds per month, more or less. Which is feasible, but not particularly cushy. Bridgit earns more than that as my maid.
"Right. Here's my offer, then." - I tell him as I lay down a pendant with Gillespie crest - "I'll cover your education here entirely. Hundred gold research fund each month, I know reagents and manuscripts are not cheap. A gold per day for your personal expenses. Any findings you make, you can present to me, and if I agree they're marketable, I put them into production. You get tithe from each profit coming out of your findings."
He blinks at me. "That... is extremely generous of you, Alyssa." - he then offers - "I'm not sure I'm worth that much."
"Oh, don't sell yourself short." - I object - "Besides, there are conditions to my offer. You might want I'm not quite as generous once you hear them."
"Well, might as well hear you out." - he retorts - "Somehow, given what I know about you, I find it dubious your conditions would be worse than my father's demands."
"Well, basically, Lemand, I am going to give you scholarly work on top of your independent research. Things I want to develop but don't have the time to sort each one in detail." - I explain - "I will give you an outline of the area I want researched and point out specific things I want you to concentrate on. Once you flesh out the generic theory and have working prototypes of specific requests, you will compile your findings into a book. Requests will go into production, with a tithe of profits coming your way, the book will be copied and distributed to several libraries, including Academy one. You'll get a copy of each for your personal library, of course."
He blinks at me. Again. Then asks, wryly - "Let me get this straight. You want to give me research topics, finance that research and publish my findings in a number of books which will be put into libraries perused by the best and brightest all over Champagne? Well, when you put it that way, it certainly sounds like OH GODS WHEN DO I SIGN UP?"
"Today, Lemand. Today." - I reply with a chuckle - "Simply put on that medallion. I will have initial funds and paperwork delivered to your room tomorrow. You have a grace period until the start of winter to figure out your independent research plans, write up a schedule for independent and contracted work which we will go over and sort out your fiscal obligations. Oh, and maybe write a scalding letter to your daddums, if you feel up to it. Remember, if he shows up to try and, ahem, 'discipline' you, he will have to appeal to me for permission to do so, and I am not in any way interested in letting some meathead mistreat my valuable retainer."
"Please don't kill him or humiliate him so badly he ends his own life, that's all I ask." - he retorts - "You have my blessings to smack him around like a red-headed stepson, otherwise."
"Yowch. You really have beef with your dad, don't you?" - I shake my head - "Well, if he elects to be stupid, I do solemnly promise to make it an unforgettable experience for him."
Lemand sighs. "Lady... Alyssa." - he offers tiredly - "Imagine growing up and being told by every single person OTHER than my family that I am brilliant and have a bright future ahead of me. And then imagine my family scoffing at that, regardless of who's opinion it is. I have had enchanted an array that soothes the weather across the whole viscounty, bringing up our annual harvests a full quarter above, and all I've got for it from my father is a lecture on throwing away money on 'wizardly boondoggles'. I'm DONE trying to impress my father, he has no appreciation for magical arts or scholars, and I find myself long tapped out of any lingering family loyalty. And that is not even counting what happened to mother... No, I beg your pardon. I should not vent my bile like this."
"What happened to your mother?" - I ask immediately. This is not touched on in the game at all, Lemand's mother might as well not exist as far as the game was concerned, and I'm very curious.
"Consumption." - he answers curtly. Huh. If memory serves me right, that's how they called tuberculosis in medieval times.
"But she's still alive?" - I inquire. Generally speaking, at the current stage of medical knowledge, there is no known cure for this disease. But, the disease itself can easily take several years or even decades to kill the patient, depending on the level of care offered.
"She is, though not through father's merits." - Lemand retorts angrily - "When it became known mother fell sick, father demanded of her to return to her parents. According to him, he was 'deceived' about her strength. According to me, well... I strongly suspect mother had fallen ill because of father's idiotic insistence on toughing out everything and anything. He refused to call doctors or let her rest when she complained about fatigue."
Hm. That... sounds promising. "Change of plans, Lemand." - I tell him sharply - "Pack for a quick trip to your mother's whereabouts. We depart tomorrow. You'll sign your contract on the airship. Once we're there... You will get your first big project from me. Documenting and working out the generic principles of it, based on practical experience."
"...Beg your pardon, but practical experience of what, Alyssa?" - he asks, his expression gradually becoming more and more alarmed as he figures out the answer in the process of asking the question.
"Curing consumption, of course." - I helpfully confirm.
First?
How can there exist a successful noble family that doesn't use magic.... How the f*ck do people take them seriously... Idiots the lot of them
Isn't it already established that 2/3 of this world consists of complete and utter morons?
Not just your "95% of people are idiots" type, but smooth-brained koala kind of intelligence.
It`s... a little more complicated then that.
Lamarchands have a family tradition of concentrating solely on "innate magic". Aka spells that increase reaction speed, strength, dexterity and so on. On SOME level, Balthazar Lamarchand DOES have some reason to be arrogant when it comes to martial prowess. The problem is, he is the sixth generation in that tradition, and having it be family`s bread and butter for so long, he simply does not think there is any worth in trying to switch up. In his mind, Lemand is flat out betraying their family cause.
Practically speaking, Balthazar IS a very remarkable fighter and before Alyssa`s "awakening" was quite rightfully considered one of the most dangerous people in the whole kingdom on personal level. Of course, with his pigheadedness, he is headed for one very rough awakening of his own, because when all is said and done, he is just a human. A human at the peak of martial capacity, granted, but a human nonetheless.
When fighting, he employs many of the tricks Alyssa herself uses, in particular he can tolerate time dilation up to 8x, which is practically superhuman. Of course, against Alyssa`s standard war footing at 32x, he might as well be dipped in molasses, but that`s a revelation he`s yet to have.
His first son, Pierre, is nearly on his level and happened to pretty much tick off every single checkbox Balthazar has for "my worthy successor", which causes helluva more problems for Lemand, because Balthazar thinks Lemand`s scholarly pursuits are in no small part an attempt to drag himself out of his elder brother`s shadow by doing something different. Which, to Balthazar, is simply cowardice, and he hopes that by systematically crushing Lemand`s aspirations, he can make Lemand "realize" that family ways are the only right ways for Lamarchand.
Well, koalas focus on eating eucalyptus leaves, Lamarchand House focuses on self-enhancement magic, very similar, I'd say. Although, they had a point on subduing the wimpzard. He nearly caused an apocalypse event, didn't he.
On an unrelated note: it's completely unfair to compare Balthazar to Alyssa in terms of battle prowess.
One is life-time training and dedication to the craft, the other is gifted bullsh*t cheat powers.
@Angry_Clown
Which is why down the line it would be Lemand who hands Balthazar his ass. For now, Lemand has confidence problems and just wants to get out from under Balthazar`s thumb. Later on, once he gets some real magic experience under his belt...
Basically, he invites Balthazar to his wedding, much against his better judgment; Balthazar makes offensive comments about his imp bride, Lemand demands satisfaction and teleport-spams slaps until Balthazar`s face is too swollen to see.
@Cytotoxin Is that how the story went when Alyssa was not a shoggoth or?
@Cytotoxin does time dilation work by just stacking "make me go twice as fast" spells?
@Opaillya Not really. It`s the same spell each time. Ostensibly speaking, any mage can go into higher multiplication with sufficient bouquet, it`s just that 8x is the absolute top level of human body durability tolerances. Most people simply end up breaking their limbs trying to go 8x.
@Daybrownies No, in the game Lemand remains in Academy mostly due to MC pitching in with her own profits and him working part-time whenever he can. Lemarchands basically quietly abandon him and he just does not care enough to make an issue out of it, too consumed by his newly found love life and magic research.
@Cytotoxin so he's a meathead. Point him at your enemy and let him loose to beat them senseless then he works just fine. Expect anything requiring a modicum of thought (like say 'external' magical combat) and he seems just as useful as the regular noble dimbulb.
that even somewhat close enough?
@Sabruness More or less. He`s like an inverted Hardlock - opposite focus, same insistence they`re unbeatable. Of course, in actual fight, Lemarchand would wipe the floor with Hardlock. ^_^
@Piisfun Sure do. There`s a scene with a dragon and steamboat that`s gonna be quite a while to get to, for example.
@Cytotoxin Everybody is still waiting for the Selene x Alicia scene.
@Cytotoxin What's are multiplication limits for Haste if it's limited to only frame jacking, rather than overworking your body?
Any particular reason Haste is a body enhancement spell rather than a time spell? There would be no such physical limitations threatening to break your body if it were an accelerated skintight temporal bubble. You could even run both versions of Haste at once, since they don't conflict in any way.
@0xFFF1 I have 2 guesses:
1. They don't know time magic exist.
2. Haste enchant the body with time resistance, thus a body enhancement spell as opposed to directly altering the time of the body, which would make Haste a time spell.
Though by the fact they know about statis 1 is unlikely so I'm at least invested on 2.
@0xFFF1 Because it has nothing to do with temporal flow? It simply overclocks your body. Hence why most people can only do x2 safely, and x4 with lots of training. Balthazar going to x8 is pretty much the absolute peak human body can be trained up to, x16 will outright mutilate people if they tried.
Temporal magic is NOT a thing in this setting. Like, period. I`d go nuts if I tried to account for time shenanigans on top of everything else.
@Cytotoxin joke suggestion: just how Alyssa and Bridgit have their own ways of making copies of themselves, give the rest of the harem unique non-reproducible cloning powers, one of them being frustrating time loop bullshit
@Opaillya No. No time travel in my fic. Just... no. I`m not Hussie, I can`t keep track of multiple timelines.
@Cytotoxin Again, i am boggled by your absolute amazing grasp of backing literally everything that is mentioned in your story with boatloads of history and world building. I know from personal experience that there’s loads of things that don’t turn up in stories that are basically required to hash out beforehand, but your dedication to creating intricate and believable reasons behind every decision that someone has talked about is breathtaking, and I am truly in awe.
@Cytotoxin Question: What is the max boost that Alyssa's body can withstand, if her usual one is 32x in 'war mode', and a top tier soldier can't withstand anything above 8x without a mortifying experience, what would be the necessary multiplier to result in a similar experience for Alyssa?
@Vamirek_Not_Worthy She tried going up to 128x when testing things out. Decided there is no point in trying next multiplier, it`s already on Za Warudo level.
Also, not mortifying experience. Crippling experience. As in, bones snapping under the strain of so much acceleration.
@Cytotoxin Ah, a mix up in my vocabulary, a mortifying experience for me. Note to self, do not jump to conclusions just because you think you know your language well. Anyways, I suppose that would make sense, no reason to go beyond what is basically a time stop. Thank you for the feedback!
@Vamirek_Not_Worthy I think you were trying for mortal experience here. Though in english it would be better to use deadly experience or lethal experience, if that was the intention.
@Cytotoxin I was thinking of mortem, Latin for dead, and didn't think to check if that's how it works. Lack of care on my part, but you're right, deadly or lethal is what I was going for.
@Vamirek_Not_Worthy English. Close enough to Latin to guesstimate, but in the same time different enough to make it hilarious. Embarrassing. Awkward. Confusing. Or all of this totgether.
@Cytotoxin I think I'm just going to stop commenting, because honestly, I'm just being an embarrassment to myself, and likely causing a whole host of others to cringe.
~Vammy signing off.
@Vamirek_Not_Worthy Eh, if you think you`re making cringe... You ain`t seen nothing yet.
There was a discussion in one of the earliest chapters with a fine neanderthal lad that espoused on the evils of suffrage in very cringeworthy detail. I do not believe I shall bother recreating his argument in detail, let`s just say that one of his primary "points" was a befuddling belief that overwhelming majority of women desire to be raped.
Now THAT was very much cringe. Your momentary fumble with Latin-English alignment in comparison looks pretty high-brow.
@Cytotoxin That's honestly depressing if he truly believes that, and I'm glad I wasn't paying too much attention to the comments at that time, too engrossed in this wonderful book of yours. BDSM is a thing, I can maybe understand that, but rape... that's a big no-no in my book.
Good to know that, while I'm not the least cringey (is that the right word?), I'm definitely not the most cringey, even if I am somewhat so.
PS. This is the longest chat I've had on one of these reading sites, nice.
@Cytotoxin so you recrate the end of the short story call of cuthul
@Cytotoxin If somebody is going to make the argument against female suffrage, at least do it right. I would take the argument more along the lines of discussing the realities of female psychology, the mechanics of intergender relations, and how welfare system muck that all up. Females since prehistory focus their mate selection on a male's ability to gather resources for them. Females are therefore psychologically predisposed towards making decisions that selfishly improve the amount of resources they receive from others. The trade-off is that they are expected to bear the children of the male that provides for them. This keeps the relationship mutually beneficial, and thus healthy. Males, in competition with other males will try to increase their resource acquisition rate in order to get as physically attractive a female as possible. This means males are psychologically predisposed towards making decisions that please females. This is the [highly simplified] overview of how males and females interact.
Now, when women received the ability to make decisions directly without going through a man due to the results of the women's suffrage movement, that meant they could and would make decisions that selfishly benefit themselves, as their psychological predisposition dictates. Except that the government, a metaphysical entity that is composed of a collection of people, itself, doesn't have a s*x drive and thus doesn't care about f*cking and impregnating the women that benefit from its presence. Instead, it's more concerned with the accumulation of wealth and power. Women, therefore, have no man in control of their resources available to limit their destructive desire for moving closer and closer to completely female supremacy. The government is effectively their Dad / Husband in this case. This is more than just an analogy, single motherhood rates are extremely high. A large chunk of men will also vote for the things women vote for because that pleases women, also following their psychological predisposition. That means votes that grow the welfare state is practically guaranteed to outvote their opponents. In this way, women's suffrage is directly causing the collapse of civilization. Perhaps there's a way out of this mess that doesn't revert women's suffrage, and if it exists, definitely take it, but otherwise, at some point, men will be forced to take back the reins or sign the destruction of everything they've built.
@0xFFF1 This line of thought is fallacious. Basically speaking, if you want to reduce the decision-making process to relying on instinctual preference, then what instinct dictates is a prime provider has very little to do with who would actually be one in modern world.
Purely instinct-wise, women should gravitate towards archetype known as "himbo". Long on muscles, short on brains, loves women and children. That is more or less the antithesis of government.
___
Long story short, trying to quantify sentients based off their gender only is not a good idea in any way and is liable to backfire in embarrassing ways if you try.
wtf has happened to my comment thread?
How has it went from me making fun of dumb nobility, to how women should never be in a position of power?
Seriously guys?!
Also @0xFFF1 what you said is f*cking ridiculous and you should keep such backwards opinions to yourself....
@Cytotoxin Don't strawman. Obviously sapience throws a wrench in it, and sapience allows individuals to make their own decisions. I already said this argument was overly simplified. Still, these instincts will play out in the averages among entire populations. The instincts are the tare point on the scale. Some will fight vehemently against their instincts and others with embrace them to an absurd degree, but on average, human decision-making on the scale of populations tilts towards what our instincts favor.
On the other point: All that matters is the ability to gather resources. Sure, 'himbos' make for good hunter-gatherers who can reliably bring back deer or whatever, but being the intelligent and insightful leader type also brings in resources. To an even greater degree than 'himbos'. The Tribe leader/shaman typically gets the best pick among their women. It doesn't matter how the male does it, just that he does. The female brain cares about results. Men that don't get results are worthless, until they do. The anti-social intelligent type might go off in a corner and experiment on their own to figure out how to catch a new type of prey or something, and if they succeed, a woman will notice them, even if they are 'worthless' until then. Innovators are valuable, so a smart leader will let them muck about, but the point again is that 'value' is not a simple concept that can be achieved in only one way.
@Snoodle_Booper > you should keep such backwards opinions to yourself....
That's not an argument, that's just an attempt to shame me. It's not my fault reality is icky, but accepting it for what it is is the only way we'd ever stand a chance of arriving upon solutions that actually improve things rather than make them worse.
@0xFFF1
That's not an argument
correct.
Its advice... Advice that you should listen to because the idea that you're offering anything close to a solution to anything is insane
The downfall of humanity won't be a due to anything as stupid as a single gender suddenly dominating the world and destroying it due to their natural greed...
No it'd be due the destructive greed and apathy that ALL humans display... the ones that display these traits the most are funnily enough the men you for whatever reason defend as if they have no faults...
Men are when you think about the ones still in power to this day... All the most powerful people tend to be men and nearly all most the horrible people are men too... For only being 50% of the population males actually make up 85% of all criminals.
Yes there are women that are very horrible, manipulative and greedy but your logic has completely forgotten about the other half of the world and the problems they cause.
Not one gender will be at fault for the end of civilisation.
The thing is I cannot find a single study that says women are more selfish than men...(its the opposite in fact)
The only thing I can find relevant to your males predisposition to simp and women enjoying it belief is Benevolent sexism or BS for short and BS athough seemingly favouring the female population at face value actually restricts their freedoms and tries to make the argument that all women are inferior physically and mentally to men
BS is still a problem to this day and has been engraved into most cultures in the world and its true that instinctly some women enjoy and it but those who are less controlled by their base instincts understand how toxic this whole system is and fight against it (basically all gender equality movements).
Looking at it all you're argument is truly odd... You believe equality movements will cause BS to become worse and force all men to worship and serve women while the whole goal for these equality movements is the complete opposite...
In conclusion: what you said is f*cking ridiculous and you should keep such backwards opinions to yourself....
@0xFFF1 Ok, no. You are ascribing far too much importance to instincts. At the level where current politics are being decided, it would misfire 90% of time. Brainpower is brainpower and gender is of, at best, secondary importance, if not tertiary.
The key trick in "accepting reality" is to figure out if the reality you intend to accept is really reality.